Legislature moves closer to police line up reforms

In tough-on-crime Texas, state lawmakers who shepherd a bill to reform some aspect of the criminal justice system can face uphill battles.

But this session, crowded with budget debates and redistricting politics, two Democrats have seen some of their reforms pass through committees and now entire chambers without much – if any – Republican opposition.

The first bill in a series aimed at reducing the number of wrongfully convicted in Texas is closer than ever to being approved by the state Legislature.

The Texas House voted today to approve on an tentative basis a bill by Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, that would streamline how law enforcement agencies use photo and live ID line-ups. The proposal passed the House today without opposition after being amended to mirror the bill by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston.

Ellis’ version of the bill, which faced no opposition in committee, passed the full Senate on March 16.

When the House approves the bill a third time, likely tomorrow, the proposal will be sent to a Senate committee and the full chamber, where it must garner approval there.

Today’s maneuvering proved that the overarching mission and language of the bill has strong support from Democrats and Republicans in both chambers — which is not the case with most bills this session.

Other bills in the so-called Innocence Protection Package include updating the organizational structure of the Taskforce on Indigent Defense and recording prison interrogations.

Gallego and Ellis have been the point men for criminal justice reforms in past sessions, but the road to this point has not been easy.

Not to mention the compelling testimony from exonerated witness, most of them African American men, who were convicted for crimes they did not commit. Never mind that Texas boasts the highest number of exonerations based on DNA evidence in the nation. Forget that Texas last addressed its exploding wrongful conviction rate a decade ago.

Procedurally, their bills have been caught in the herd before. Last session, in 2009, the House stalled on similar reform efforts after the Senate passed the measures, and the bills languished.

But this year, both chairmen introduced the measures again in their respective chambers with a year’s worth of debate and bi-partisan work on their side.

Their reforms have all been endorsed by the bi-partisan Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit, which Judge Barbara Hervey, of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, launched in 2008.

The unit includes Hervey, Ellis and other reform advocates, as well as district attorneys from Dallas and El Paso and Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Plano.